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Air was appointed to develop the brand expression, interior design, wayfinding, signing and touchscreens for this exciting new scheme in central … Read More

Air was appointed to develop the brand expression, interior design, wayfinding, signing and touchscreens for this exciting new scheme in central Budapest. Read Less

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BriefAir was appointed to develop the brand expression, interior design, wayfinding, signing and touchscreens for this exciting new scheme in central Budapest.

SolutionFocusing on the idea of creating a home away from home for the people of Budapest, we chose a contemporary blend of traditional Hungarian patterns and tailored the interiors to look more inviting thantraditional shopping centres.

ResultOver 59,000 people visited the centre on the opening day, surpassing all expectations. Our solution has been extremely well received by the client and we look forward to working with them on future European projects.

Signage isfundamental to a visitor’s experience of a shopping centre as well as being akey element of brand expression. Each level in the mall is colour coded, whichis reflected in the signage through the typefaces and secondary colours. Thesecolours were chosen as they are particularly vibrant, have the same tonalvalues and most importantly are in keeping with the Corvin brand.

Air’s inspiration forthe sign design came from a suit jacket: smart and sophisticated on theoutside, yet flashy and patterned on the inside. The outer section carrying thewayfinding information is slick and clean, made from aluminium with vinylgraphics reverse applied to acrylic. The inner contrasting parts areinterchangeable and can be updated whenever desired.

Air chose Chevin as theprimary typeface for all maps and signs throughout the scheme as its clearsans-serif nature allows for maximum legibility and also reflects the circularelements of the mall logo. The scheme also includes a bespoke set of pictograms whichwere drawn to incorporate the rounded characteristics of the typeface; morethan 20 of these were created for the final wayfinding scheme.

Aspart of the wayfinding scheme Air also introduced a state-of-the-art 32” touchscreen system. As well as acting as anavigation tool and store finder, the system provides easy access on everythingfrom events, store news and offers, to visitor information and customerservices. The solution features built-in Flash and runs on a simple contentmanagement system which updates both the mall website and onsite touchscreenkiosks simultaneously via a secure wifi connection. Each touchscreen kiosk islocation aware and has the capability of directing the customer to theirclosest store or facility. For accessibility reasons the route can also beredirected to avoid steps and escalators.

The small touches makeall the difference in schemes such as this. To create warmth and opulence Airchose sumptuous colours, materials and textures for the soft furnishings, woodin the food court and individual mirrors and fittings in the bathrooms. Thebespoke Air Design ‘Corvin Pods’ below add an element of brand expression as theirdesign complements the centre logo. These unique, flexible and practical seatsallow families to sit together, or likewise individuals can sit alone and plugin their laptops to make use of the free wifi.

In order to cover empty units in the food courts, Air developed innovative scratch and sniff hoardings. These have been particularly well received by the client and visitors to the mall, who have been intrigued and delighted by the fruity scents!